


Supposed To Be A Happy Day

by Bam4Me



Series: A Song And Unfamiliar Dance [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bastard's Don't Exist Either, Canon Divergence - Robert's Rebellion, Homophobia Doesn't Exist, M/M, Ned is grieving, No Robert/Lyanna, No cheating, deal with that, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 01:57:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18768844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: Ned and Robert have been looking forward to their wedding day since they had met as eager teenagers. They hadn't foreseen the circumstances surrounding it.





	Supposed To Be A Happy Day

**Author's Note:**

> Please read: So, AU where gay marriage is as normal as heterosexual. That was my starting point for this. An AU where Robert was never promised to Lyanna, so Ned wouldn't have felt like Robert would kill Jon, because Robert wouldn't have in this AU. Since Robert was promised to Ned, and Brandon survived, Ned and Robert marry and raise Jon and Gendry in King's Landing. See, I put the tag 'no cheating' in this one cause 1: canon Robert is a fucking whore and he ain't that here. I think if he was married to someone he genuinely loved, he wouldn't sleep around on them. And 2: Robert was engaged to Ned when Gendry was conceived. That's not cheating here, and he had a baby for the same reason that Ned in canon got Catelyn pregnant before he went off to war, so there would be an heir. You can use your imagination on if people actually sleep with the person they're trying to get pregnant or if they use a sperm donation method, but I prefer them not sleeping together. But I also don't really mention it so whatever.
> 
> So, since people obviously have babies with people they're not married to, that means bastards don't really exist tbh, so Jon and Gendry are both considered viable heirs.
> 
> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com

It was on the morning of Ned and Robert’s wedding that Catelyn and Brandon finally arrived in King’s Landing for the wedding. They had little baby Robb with them, barely a month older than Jon and Gendry were now. Only just old enough that they were sure he would be safe to travel, but Ned could tell that neither Cat nor Brandon were fully comfortable with it.

 

Jon was fussing in his cot again. He was always fussing. Ned pulled him out and handed him over to the wet nurse to see if he was hungry, but he just fussed even more, reaching out with stubby little arms for Ned again.

 

Ned sighed, taking him back from the kindly woman. The baby in his arms still had blue eyes, but he could see a bit of Lyanna’s brown creeping in. He didn’t have Rhaegar’s hair, thank the gods, but he had his nose.

 

Brandon frowned at the two of them, looking sad. “Ned, you’re a bit young for kids, it wouldn’t be that hard to bring him back North with us when me and Cat go back to Winterfell.”

 

Ned looked away from the intense gaze that his baby nephew rightly shouldn’t have at such a young age, and frowned at his brother. Lately he feels like he’s frowning at anyone who isn’t Robert or a child. The maester said Ned’s heart needed to heal more than any wound he’s gotten in the war.

 

“I’m not going to abandon him, Brandon. I’ve already laid claim to him as my son, and that’s how things will stay. Even if you take him with you, Robert and I still have Gendry, in case you haven’t noticed. He’s a bit quieter than Jon, just in case you’ve forgotten.”

 

Brandon smiled a little, reaching inside Gendry’s cot to let the little one grab a hold of a finger. Gendry had an intense looking brood on his face too. Brandon snorted. “I’ve never seen a pair of babies so unimpressed with their lives so far.”

 

Ned snorted back, leaning down to press a kiss to Jon’s little head for a moment. He had never expected to lose his sister and gain the most important person in his life other than Robert all in one day. He loved Gendry, but this was his sister’s legacy. He was the last gift she had ever given him, and he would not squander it as if she had meant so little to him.

 

“Gendry is our silent little thinker. He has lots to think and pout about. But Jon, he makes sure you know when he’s upset, which is  _ always _ .”

 

He was only twenty, he wasn’t ready to marry a king and take over ruling the seven kingdoms. But he was more than ready to take care of these little boys. Some days, they’re all that could make him smile.

 

Brandon looked at him like he wanted to hug him, to never let him go. They’d almost lost him too, Brandon had been too sick to even fight for the majority of the war. Brandon and Ned both had a good reason to be sad. Brandon looked back down at the silent little one in the second cot while Ned held little Jon closer, feeling a little sick.

 

He didn’t want to be a king’s consort. But he wanted to be Robert’s husband. He’s wanted that since the two of them had first met as teenagers. They had been promised to each other since childhood, and best friends since teens, he wanted to be with Robert.

 

There were no Godswood in the south. There were no eyes for the gods to watch over him and Jon here. He wasn’t sure they would survive the Capitol.

 

There was a light knock on the door, and Brandon moved to open it, letting in Catelyn with little baby Robb. They were in a room off to the side of the sept, waiting for the wedding comers to all arrive. “Robert says they’re nearly ready for the ceremony to begin.”

 

Brandon nodded, reaching in to pick up Gendry, and handing him off to his wet nurse. Gendry just glared harder at them all, but Ned reluctantly handed over Jon to the other nurse, letting Brandon fuss over the fit of Ned’s clothes. He was wearing a Stark cloak, and by the end of the ceremony, it would be replaced with a Baratheon one.

 

When the wet nurses were gone, Catelyn gave him a long look. “Tywin Lannister has apparently, according to Robert’s ranting, said this whole wedding is an insult to his house, for refusing Cersei’s hand in marriage like Rhaegar had before him.”

 

Ned’s nose wrinkled up in disgust. “Robert has been promised to me since I was a boy. This rebellion happened under Stark and Baratheon banners, it would be an insult to break  _ our _ engagement just for that-“ he couldn’t say it. He wanted to insult the girl. But it was her father who’s caused the insult here.

 

Catelyn nodded, looking far too wise to his upset. It would have been an insult for her to have broken her engagement to Brandon when they still weren’t sure he would have made it out alive, even with everyone encouraging them both to, for the sake of an alliance to help the war. They both had been so happy to see Brandon make it home in time for a wedding. 

 

“Why did you and Robert scorn him before the end of the war? What grievance did he cause, other than trying to steal your betrothed?” That was cause enough for most, but Ned was well known for keeping his calm in worse situations than that. 

 

Ned looked at the door the wet nurses had left out of with his and Robert’s sons, frowning. “Tywin Lannister offered to help us sack King’s Landing. We didn’t need his help, so we didn’t take it. He offered his council instead, that when I go to look for Lyanna in Dorne…” he swallowed once, and Brandon went still. He knew what happened, of course, they had been told when they’d arrived that morning, but it still hurt. “He told me that I should track down Elia Martell as well, to slaughter her and her children as they flee back to Dorne. I tracked her down, and I gave her twenty men to guard her on the way home instead.”

 

Catelyn sighed, shaking her head in disgust. “I’m sure that slaughtering babes and their mother to scorn all of Dorne would have been an  _ amazing _ way to start Robert’s rule as king.”

 

Ned nodded, looking ill. “He also said the same about the fleeing Queen Mother, Rhaella and her little ones as well. I plan on tracking them down later to see they’re all safe across the Narrow Sea. He refuses to accept Robert as a true king unless he kills babes in their cribs, and marries a girl he was never promised to.”

 

“Well, no matter what, he’s sent his youngest son to the wedding to represent him.”

 

Ned frowned. “Jaime? No, that’s not his youngest, Tyrion?” Jaime had fled the Capitol the moment he’d stopped being questioned by Ned about killing the man he’d been sworn to protect. Ned had thanked him for what he’d done, for with all that Wild Fire, the Mad King could have burnt down all the Capitol, but Jaime would never lose the title Kingslayer because of it. Ned had let him leave to go back to his family, broken from his vows. Jaime had seemed thankful, but terrified of what would happen next. Ned didn’t think he’d ever  _ want _ to come back. 

 

Catelyn nodded. “Yes, the half-man, Tyrion. I believe Tywin meant it as the greatest insult he could manage without saying it outright.”

 

Ned snorted, shaking his head. “Shows what he knows, from what I’ve heard of the youngest Lannister, I would enjoy his company more than I ever would Tywin’s.”

 

“I think we all will.”

 

***

 

When Ned and Robert had first met, they would playfully fight over who would cloak the other at their wedding. Their parents had encouraged them to come to a conclusion on their own, though they had always implied that Ned would be cloaked in the end. Robert was the eldest Baratheon brother, and Ned was the second son of Rickard Stark. He was very unlikely to ever have the titles Robert would. 

 

But that had never changed the fact that their parents wanted them to come to conclusions on their own. Duty is important, but loving your partner and wanting the best for them, was all their parents wanted for them.

 

Robert had cloaked him, bringing him under his protection in front of the court, in front of Ned’s family that were able to come, and their sons. Their sons too little to know or care what was going on. Howland Reed was sitting next to Jon’s wet nurse, but he’d said he’d leave for the Neck before the sun was up tomorrow.

 

Ned heard Jon start to fuss again. He was only a good twenty feet away, and the wet nurse was quiet to calm him down, but Ned still felt his hand twitch, wishing he could hold the baby close himself. 

 

He liked being a man, but sometimes he wished he wasn’t, so he could soothe Jon the way Jon needed, to feed him, never leave his side while he was this little. They couldn’t even keep the babies in their chambers at night because the nurses needed to be nearby if they needed to be fed.

 

Ned settled with Robert’s hand on his arm, repeating the words of the high sept, and shared his first kiss with Robert as husband and husband. It was nice, it was everything he wanted for them.

 

It wasn’t the right circumstances to come about it thought. He wished that Lyanna was here to see them. Holding her little boy and grinning up at them like she was just as delighted as they were. Robert deserved to be king, but Lyanna deserved to be alive. She was supposed to carry Robert’s babies for him. Their families hadn’t yet decided who would be a good match to carry children for Ned, but he’s not sure he cares anymore.

 

They had Gendry and Jon. That was all they really needed.

 

There was no bedding ceremony. The party goers could see the look on Ned’s face, and knew he wouldn’t stand for him and Robert to be accosted on their way back to their chambers. He was thankful for it, even if he was upset that it was his wedding night -he’d been waiting for this night for almost ten years- and he couldn’t muster up a smile.

 

“I’m sorry, Robert, I just can’t seem to… I know it’s our wedding night but I-“

 

Robert sat next to Ned on the bed, gently covering Ned’s hand with his own. He pressed a soft kiss to Ned’s cheek, the two of them leaning together. “It’ll happen, but what sort of husband would I be if I forced this on the one I love?”

 

Ned snorted, looking down at his shaking hands. The war was easy. Not easy to kill people, or easy to constantly be away from those he loves, but easy because there was always a task at hand to focus on. A goal to complete before the next one.

 

“In a few days, we should start holding open court to the smallfolk, like we do back in Winterfell. These people’s grievances have been going unheeded for years. People starving in the streets, disease. It’s not right, it’s not how a kingdom should be run.”

 

Robert paused, confused by the change of topic, but willing to give it to him, if only for the distraction that it was. “I assume you’ll want to hold court yourself? You’ll need someone here who knows the city.”

 

Ned nodded, considering it. He’s been trained his whole life to know Winterfell. Know who to go to when they needed grain, know what to do when a smallfolk says they need more workers.

 

He was going to have to learn a whole new city, the Capitol. Half a million people. He looked up from the floor, a firm look on his face. “Okay, then, a small council first. More maesters from the Citadel. It’s not just the nobles who deserve to be healthy.”

 

Robert gave him a little nod, pulling Ned back into his arms further up the bed. Ned leaned into him, letting his mind run off with thoughts of running a kingdom, instead of letting them wander. “That’s what we’ll do. Now, would my lovely husband like to turn in for the night?”

 

Ned smiled, and Robert felt his chest too full for a moment at the sight of it. Ned has been like a ghost all evening, barely there as he glided through the feast, paying attention to no one but the boys in their cots, and any attention he had from them had been lost when they were taken off to bed early.

 

He’s been waiting for that smile all night.

 

“That would be wonderful, Your Grace.” It sounded teasing, and Robert was glad of it. He thinks he knows how to keep Ned suitably distracted from now on. 

**Author's Note:**

> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com
> 
> More fics to come in this series lol, just subscribe to the series and don't demand updates.
> 
> Also, yes, Ned did imply that Tywin suggested they kill Dany and her brother, and Ned's taking that as an invitation to send them a guard instead. Lol. That one's gonna be a surprise.
> 
> Ned loves Gendry too, but he's grieving real bad rn and he can't stop thinking about Lyanna, and Jon, and how much he misses her, and how he can't lose Jon too, and so he's mostly just really focused on Jon rn. Don't worry, he's not gonna be one of those parents that only likes one kid.


End file.
